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Good Eats: Tort(illa) Reform
That Mexican restaurant down the street – the one in the strip mall – has the right decorative touches, but is it authentically Mexican? Probably not, says Alton. Still, it does likely offer one certainly authentic Mexican staple – the tortilla. The tortilla is an excellent delivery mechanism for many delicious foods and perhaps a few not-so-delicious foods as well. Starting with the history of corn flour (and what might be Montezuma’s real revenge) , Alton shows how to prepare masa. Then he turns that masa into Tortillas and Lime Tortilla Chips.
| 7/10 (1 Vote cast) |
Episode Info
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Episode number: 10x1 Production Number: EA1002 Airdate: Wednesday May 03rd, 2006 Writer: Alton Brown
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Recap
Alton’s in “that Mexican restaurant.” You know it, the one in the strip mall down the street, with sombreros on the walls, the soccer channel on TV and a cactus on the menu. There’s not much authentic Mexican cuisine here, but an important exception is also a key element of Meso-Americana: the tortilla. A staple for half the planet, the tortilla may be one of the “edible lynchpins of human history.” But most folks wouldn’t take on the tortilla, which is a real shame, for it is a truly “a-maizing,” perhaps more American than apple pie, healthful, easy to make and versatile. All of which certainly qualify it as… Good Eats!..Read the full recap
Episode Notes
Cards
- Tortilla literally means ‘little tart’.
- This plant produces 1.3 million tortillas a day.
- Southern grits are ground form hominy, a white corn version of nixtamel.
- In Spain ‘tortilla’ often refers to an open-face omelet.
- Things the Aztecs put in tortillas: waterbugs, frogs, salamanders, algae and tiny lake worms.
The title derives from "Tort Reform" a popular philosophy at the time the episode aired. It claims changes are needed to the legal code to address abuse of process by lawyers chiefly interested in fat fees. A judgement on whether this philosophy has merit is left as an exercise for the interested student...
The faces on the animated figures that tell the story of Cortés are people from the Good Eats production crew.
Pellagra, which Alton describes as “Montezuma’s real revenge” is a form of malnutrition caused by too little niacin (Vitamin B3) and protein. Untreated, it is fatal in four or five years, but most patients respond to niacin therapy. First described in the eighteenth century, its cause resisted discovery until around 1915 when a researcher managed to induce and then cure the disease. Deb Duchon’s description omits an important fourth “D” – dermatitis, occasionally severe.
Episode Quotes
Alton: Hi, there. Alton Brown here, in the Mexican restaurant down the street from your house. You know the one – in the strip mall, has sombreros on the wall over the cash register. The TV in the bar is always tuned to the soccer channel. There’s a cactus on the outside of the menu, and a bunch of numbers on the inside. Oh, and here’s a shocker, America: delicious though that number sixteen combo may be, it’s about as authentically Mexican as the Frito Bandito. There is, however, one solid piece of Mesoamericana here: the tortilla.
Alton: The tortilla is a truly a-maizing... get it? Ha, ha, ha! Nevermind... the point is, the tortilla is way more American than apple pie. It’s healthful, easy to concoct and versatile as vice grips. And that, gentle viewer, is more than enough to qualify it as... (Good Eats theme plays)
Alton: (introducing Deb Duchon) You notice how I don’t even have to think “nutritional anthropologist” anymore and she shows up?
Deb Duchon: In a way [the Aztecs] got their revenge because when Cortes and the other conquistadors brought maize back to the old world, they didn’t take nixtamelization, so the countries and peoples that adopted corn as their main grain soon suffered from a terrible disease of malnutrition called pellagra.
Alton: What’s pellagra do?
Deb Duchon: Um... the three dreaded Ds – diarrhea, dementia, and death.
Alton: Well... I guess that’s Montezuma’s real revenge...
Alton: What’s pellagra do?
Deb Duchon: Um... the three dreaded Ds – diarrhea, dementia, and death.
Alton: Well... I guess that’s Montezuma’s real revenge...
Alton: (about nixtamelization) When your corn hits a boil, cover the pot, kill the heat of course, and just stash the pot someplace out of the way overnight. And do not put it in the refrigerator, because cold will shut down the chemical reactions that we are counting on taking place here.
Alton: (about el metate, the device used by Aztecs to grind corn into masa) There it is, ladies and gentlemen, this beautiful engine of masa destruction carved out of two blocks of solid lava rock. It is the final word in corn grinding! Does it take a lot of back breaking labor just to manufacture enough dough to have tortillas for a small family? Yes!! But the purist in me says, “You gotta do what you gotta do!” Meanwhile, the kind of lazy American male in me says, “Hey, maybe we should try the food processor again...”
Alton: Although traditionally crafted corn tortillas are undeniably delicious, they are also très perishable, ergo, they ship poorly. And that’s good, because just about every city and large town in the United States with a Latin American community has a tortilla plant.
The Dungeon Master: Greetings, master! How may I serve your impudence?
Alton: The shape and hand-friendly size of the tortilla make it perfect delivery device for an infinite number of goods, from the traditional shredded meat and beans to my favorite: fried anchovies with hot sauce! Hey, Deb, what did you bring?
Deb Duchon: Well, a tortilla’s a perfect wrapper for these chapulinas.
Alton: Chapulinas? What’s that, pray tell?
Deb Duchon: Fried grasshoppers with chili powder. And I brought a whole bowl of ‘em, too... Have some!
Alton: (unenthusiastically) Well... it’s our lucky day.
Deb Duchon: Well, a tortilla’s a perfect wrapper for these chapulinas.
Alton: Chapulinas? What’s that, pray tell?
Deb Duchon: Fried grasshoppers with chili powder. And I brought a whole bowl of ‘em, too... Have some!
Alton: (unenthusiastically) Well... it’s our lucky day.
Alton: ‘Course, this has all been pretty nifty – but the most serious and special top-secret tortilla trick of all time... is yet to come!
Alton: Well, there you have it, kids. Crisp yet meaty delicious salty lime tortilla chips containing no chemicals... well, other than sodium chloride... no preservatives, no artificial anything, and they only cost – I don’t know – a cent and a half to make.
Cultural References
Alton describes a certain kind of restaurant, claiming it is about as authentically Mexican as the Frito Bandito. In the 1968-69, Frito-Lay advertised its most popular product, Fritos corn chips, with an animated character called the Frito Bandito, who spoke poor English and was addicted to the salty snacks. The campaign drew the ire of the Latino community for its reliance on unwholesome stereotypes and was quickly replaced. Erasers and other memorabilia featuring the character are now collectors' items.
Alton mentions Montezuma’s real revenge, referring to Montezuma’s revenge, a form of gastric distress that affects many who travel to Mexico; long exposure has fostered immunity in most natives. It is most often a bacterial infection of the gut that presents as a constellation of unpleasant but transitory symptoms. Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disorder that Alton claims may be the "real revenge." It is a considerably more serious problem that can cause permanent damage. The term alludes to the idea that non-natives are being punished for the depredations of Cortés and other conquistadors.
Alton refers to el metate, the Aztec nixtamel grinder, as an “engine of masa destruction” which is a pun that refers to “weapon of mass destruction.” In 2006 when this episode was filmed, the United States was in the third year of a war with Iraq. The stated motive for this war was Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's accumulation of weapons of mass destruction, a collective euphemism that refers to various weapons technologies sharing two basic traits: (1) they kill indiscriminately, and (2) they kill large numbers of individuals, even when used with restraint.
The Dungeon Master appears. He is a parody of the Crypt Keeper from the old EC “Tales from the Crypt” comics, and more recently television series. In this episode, he shows Alton a variety of methods for pressing masa dough into tortillas, some of which are equally good for “extracting confessions” or “good, clean fun.”
Discussion the transformation of tortillas into tortilla chips, Alton utters a Rod Serling catchphrase, submitted for your approval. Serling frequently introduced the subjects of episode of his best known and most successful series, The Twilight Zone with this phrase.
Analysis
A generally good episode, loading with the kind of science and history that sets Good Eats apart from a lot of other cooking shows. It's significant weakness is that it explains the history of the tortilla and the way to make one, without ever really explaining why one might wish to. That is, beyond the basics of tacos and fried tortilla chips, what can be done with these corn discs?
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